The Archer's Tale
by sleepingfairy28
Summary: Inna isn't looking to join a guild. She's looking to find her brother, but sometimes a fateful meeting in a port town can lead her to an unexpected journey involving a really mysterious guy she doesn't understand. (OC Centric)


**In the port town of Hargeon**

 _So this is Hargeon…seems like a nice place._

A young woman, most of her appearance concealed by a light brown hooded cloak, looked around as she walked through the streets. Hargeon prospered through sales of fish and sea imports. If she were to take a moment to smell the air, she could practically taste the ocean. A small smile did form on her face as her hand went to one of the two necklaces around her neck. The longer one held an iron charm that was shaped like a double-sided battle axe, with a few purple beads strung on both sides of it. The other necklace, basically a choker, held a feather charm on it.

Her hand went to her hood, lowering it as she spotted the magic shop. This revealed her dark auburn hair, lightly tanned skin, and deep orange eyes. Her hair was long and bit tousled though the look seemed to suit her. Underneath her cloak she was wearing an off white tank top with somewhat deep neckline. A pair of form fitting black plants tucked into deep brown hunting boots were clad on her legs. She also wore a leather belt that also secured a deep red fabric that tied around her hips, mostly concealing her right leg and ended at her knee. Finally, she wore leather archery arm guards on her forearms. She had dark blue tribal tattoos that look to start from her biceps and end at her finger tips.

According to the guard, this was the only magic shop in town. Reasonable, she supposed, as this town didn't prosper because of magic. There was no magic guild in town after all. She chewed her bottom lip nervously. Her hand reached into the bag hanging off the side of her belt where she withdrew a folded up photograph. _Okay, let's just go on-_

Just as she was approaching the door to the shop, it swung open so fast that she didn't have a chance to back up. It slammed right into her face, causing her to stumble and fall on her behind.

"What- Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" A girlish voice cried out.

Someone rushed to her side but she didn't look at them, only cupping her face feeling her nose hurt. "Are you okay? I'm really sorry, I didn't see you there!" Eventually she opened her eyes and saw a blonde girl kneeling next to her, brown eyes wide with worry. She had pretty blonde hair, and was wearing a blue and white top with a cross design.

"I'm f-fine. I should have been paying attention myself." The auburn hair girl answered, wincing as she moved her hands away from her nose. It wasn't broken thankfully, but it was going to be sore for a little bit.

"I feel really bad though, let me help you up!" The blonde offered her hand which she accepted, and stood up. She helped her dust off and sighed. "This is not going well…first I get ripped off by that shopkeeper, and now I hit someone with a door." The blonde was mumbling to herself.

 _She was ripped off? Well that doesn't sound too surprising to be honest. If this is truly the only magic shop in town, business might be tough for the owner. It makes sense for the items to be pricey._

The other girl waved her hands, trying to show she was fine. "It's alright, everyone has their bad days. I'm okay, and I know you didn't mean it." Sensing the blonde still felt guilty, she gave a timid smile and held her hand out for a shake. "My name is Inna Bunker."

The blonde seemed to relax, and smiled back. "I'm Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia." _Her last name sounds really pretty._ Lucy then spotted the folded up photo laying on the sidewalk, and picked it up. "Here, you dropped this." She handed it to Inna who blushed and took it. She then blinked, and opened it up before turning towards Lucy.

"Thank you, but…have you seen this man?" Lucy blinked in confusion before looking at the picture. A handsome young man with a muscular built was sitting down on a log in the photo, sharpening a medium sized buster sword. He had the same skin tone and eyes as Inna, but his hair was a rich dark brown. It was a bit spiky and on the longer side, tucked into a low ponytail. He was just wearing a simple white long sleeve and black trousers with boots.

"No, I haven't. Is that your brother?" Inna sighed and nodded. Just her luck. Her brother, Jack Bunker, had gone missing a little over a year ago. It had devastated her and her parents when they received the news. Especially her mother, whose health was starting to decline due to her frail immune system.

Her family had been traveling merchants, living in caravans up until her mother's health took a turn for the worst. They settled in a permanent residence that was a cozy cottage located not far from Era. It had been a good choice at the time, as Era had a good doctor they could go to and Jack had signed up to be a Rune Knight for the Magic Council.

 _How does a captain go missing? Isn't somebody looking into it?_ Inna had sworn she would scour the entirety of Ishgar if she had to in order to find her brother, and bring him home. She hasn't had much luck so far, only finding thin leads that led to nowhere.

"His name is Jack, and he's been missing for a while now. I've been trying to find him, but I haven't had any luck…" Inna bowed her head. "Thank you for your help. If you don't mind, I'm going to ask around a little more." She turned around, getting ready to leave.

Lucy felt bad having seen the crestfallen look fall over the girl's face. The celestial spirit mage understood what it was like to lose a family member, though she did hope that Inna's brother was only missing, not dead. "Hey, are you up for lunch? I'll treat, since I did hit you with a door." _And it would be nice to talk to another girl for a bit._

Inna paused, blushed, and then waved her hands as she turned around. "P-Please, there's no need. It was an accident!"

"But I feel bad, let me buy you something to drink at least, or even some ice for your nose." Lucy insisted. Inna's hands eventually lowered, and she nodded.

"Okay, if you insist…."

* * *

"And I can't believe he only knocked off 1,000 jewel! That stubborn old geezer must be blind, my feminine charm can't be worth that little!" Lucy ranted, even angrily marching as she recalled the whole thing. Inna sweat-dropped as she walked next to her.

"A lot of merchants are like that Lucy." Inna offered but only heard another pout from Lucy. The both of them then paused upon hearing a lot of girls squeal and cheer. They both exchanged looks, and looked over the railing to see a crowd forming below in front of a building. Inna frowned. "Wonder what's going on there…?" A celebrity?

As if the universe was answering, two girls rushed by giggling. "That really famous wizard is here!"

"Salamander!"

Inna's frown deepened as Lucy clapped. "Salamander? Wow, as in the famous wizard who uses fire magic you can't buy in stores?! He's in this dead end town?!" She looked at Inna excitedly. "Come on, let's go check him out! It's not every day you get to see a famous wizard you know." She encouraged Inna to follow her as she followed the passing fangirls. Inna frowned again, and hugged her cloak closer to herself as she followed the blonde.

As it turned out, this Salamander was a tall, slim man with blue hair and an ornate looking cloak. He seemed to be playing the role of a heartthrob apparently as women around him kept giving heart eyes. Inna didn't see the appeal in him and frowned seeing Lucy blush and clutch her heart as she watched him too. She looked back at him and saw how he kept moving around a hand with two prominent rings on it. Weird.

 _Well, if he's a famous wizard, then maybe he could have seen Jack in his travels?_

She pushed her way through the crowd and walked forward until she was right in front of him. He looked surprised for a moment before flashing a charming smile. "Why hello-"

"Pardon me, but have you seen this man?" She held up the photograph from before earlier. He looked a bit flabbergasted she wasn't immediately fawning and that she even interrupted him, before glancing at the photo. Though it was a quick action, she spotted his jaw clench before quickly going back to being 'dashing' again. If she hadn't been watching his face carefully, then she would have missed it.

"I'm afraid I haven't, but-" Whatever he was saying was abruptly cut off when Inna turned and started to walk away. His jaw dropped. _She's just completely disregarding me?!_ He seemed to have thought. A few of the fangirls glared at Inna as she attempted to make her way back through the crowd towards where she left Lucy.

"How rude!"

"Salamander was talking to you!" Inna ducked a swipe and frowned seeing Lucy was not in the spot she left her. _Where-?_

She turned back towards Salamander only to see Lucy with hearts practically in her eyes as she approached him closer and closer, as if being drawn in like a moth to a flame. An alarm went off in the back of Inna's head, but she couldn't figure out why. Still, she shoved her way through the crowd to get to Lucy. Just about as she was about to reach out to her, she heard a commotion as a few girls in the crowd gasped.

"Igneel, it's me!" A young man with spiky pink hair and a white scaly scarf broke through the line of fangirls, a look of pure joy on his face until his onyx eyes landed on Salamander. His expression was quickly replaced with one of confusion and disappointment.

"Uh, who the heck are you?"

 _Glad we're in the same boat_ Inna thought as she wouldn't know who this guy was if Lucy hadn't said anything earlier. _But…why do I have an itch in my head that suggests I should know_ _this_ _guy? Spiky pink hair, white scaly scarf…come on Inna, think!_

The so called celebrity was quick to replace his shock with a confident smirk. "I am the great Salamander." He proclaimed only to choke seeing the newcomer turn and leave just like Inna did a few moments ago. Inna herself giggled behind her hand before looking at Lucy and sighed in relief seeing the dazed, lovesick look that was on her face was gone as she moved away from him.

 _Wait…lovesick look? Being drawn into him? Those gestures with his ringed hand?_

Suddenly the alarm that went off just moments ago made sense. _He's using Charm magic…_ As if to double check, she glanced at him again seeing as she was close enough to make out the details of his ring. She blanched upon seeing the ring with a heart on it. _But that magic is illegal, it's been banned for years! I remember Uncle Wolfheim telling me about it...this guy is that desperate for attention?_

Shouts cut her from her thoughts and she gasped seeing the girls gang up on the newcomer, yelling about how he shouldn't be so disrespectful towards the oh so great Salamander. Well, this just confirmed it. Charmed Magic could cause it's victims to grow hostile to anyone that showed even the tiniest sign of disrespect towards the caster. Almost like a pack of piranhas, if one needed comparison. "H-Hey, leave him-"

"Now now my lovely ladies, that's enough now, you can leave the boy alone. I'm sure he didn't mean anything harsh by it." Salamander gave a closed eye smile, making the girls swoon over his 'kindness' as he approached the young man. He took out a poster and signed it with his name. "Here you go, now go show off to all your friends."

The other man just stared at it. "I'll pass."

A glint went through the aggravated fangirls' eyes, which did not go unseen by Inna, so she quickly moved over by him. Just as they were about to crowd the two, Inna reached behind her back which had been hidden by her cloak and yanked out her long slightly curved dagger. She quickly swiped it out in front causing the girls to back up in surprise and fear. Apparently they didn't notice the dagger was still sheathed. Usually, it rested horizontally on her lower back. "That's enough, you don't get to treat people this way! Back off him!" The one she was shielding looked at her in surprise but was also grateful she stepped in when she did. Inna's eyes scanned him, her inner healer taking over as she couldn't help but look for any injuries.

Salamander clapped his hands, getting the attention of everyone. "Alright girls, just leave them alone for now. Red Carpet!" He snapped his fingers then as vibrant pink flames lifted him off the ground. When he was high enough in the air for everyone in the square to see him, he spoke again. "I'm having a party on my yacht tonight, and you are all invited!" He then flew away leaving behind his squealing fangirls.

Inna made a face at that before turning to look at the boy she had been defending. Her eyes softened and she knelt next to him. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" She then finally noticed his companion.

A blue cat walking on two legs with a green bag tied over his back. "Don't worry about Natsu, he's pretty tough!" the cat chirped making Inna do a double take. _He...he talks?!_

"Happy's right, I'm all good. Thanks for the help though!" Natsu grinned at her, making her blush from the praise. He then looked in the direction of where Salamander went, his grin fading to a frown. "Who was that guy?"

"I don't know but he was a total creep." Lucy spoke up, walking up to them. She smiled at Natsu. "Thanks for the help!"

* * *

Inna held back her giggles watching Natsu and Happy eat the lunch Lucy paid for. When Natsu broke through the crowd and shouted at Salamander, he had broken the charm spell's hold on Lucy. Inna thought it was very sweet that she treated him in thanks, coming to the conclusion Lucy was a kind girl despite her tendency to be a bit loud at times.

Inna herself paid her way and she also bought a strawberry drink for Lucy seeing as the blonde seemed to have had quite an eventful day.

"My name is Lucy, it's nice to meet you! Oh, and this is Inna too!" Lucy introduced as Natsu all but destroyed a large bowl of pasta. The cat, Happy, was starting to consume a pile of fish but he managed to say "Aye!" before he started eating.

"So it's Natsu and Happy, was it?"

"Aye!"

"Yeah, you're so nice!" Natsu managed to get out as he chewed and swallowed.

Though the rate he was eating was amusing, Inna watched Lucy awkwardly laughed trying to tell them to slow it down as tidbits of food was flying everywhere.

"H-Hey, slow down. You m-might choke."

As if on cue, Natsu coughed making her squeak. He quickly recovered though and swallowed a hefty mouthful of food. She sighed in relief and took a sip of warm tea, dodging a flying piece of food.

"Evidently, that Salamander guy was using a charm spell to hypnotize the ladies in town into thinking they were in love with him." Lucy started to talk. "Charm spells have the power to attract people against their will, but the thing is they've been banned for years, why would he even have one?" Lucy rambled as Inna nodded in agreement, looking over to see if the boys were listening.

 _Yup, just like Uncle Wolfheim said. They've been banned…I don't even want to think about what he did to get his hands on one._

"I totally felt victim to his spell, but I snapped out of it thanks to you guys barging in when you did!" Lucy smiled brightly as Natsu gnawed on a piece of food. "Really, I'm can't be more grateful to you guys!" Natsu may have said something but Inna couldn't understand.

"I may not look like it, but I'm a wizard myself! Though I haven't joined a guild or anything. I'm sure you already know Inna," Lucy said looking at her for a moment. "I mean, I did hit you with the door to the magic shop, sorry about that again." Her attention went to Natsu and Happy again. She started to talk about guilds, and she explained the whole process making Inna frowned. _Are guilds really that complicated to get in? There are so many of them I didn't think it would be hard to join one. Just show you have magic, and you should be good…right?_ She didn't have any interest in joining them herself.

Inna had studied medicine her whole life. It started out with learning knowledge about herbs from her mother and their medicinal properties. Then, her dream to own a little clinic began to form. She wanted to open one up as she hated seeing people hurt or sick. She supposed a guild could help her get the funds, but at the same time she was awful with socialization. She was a shy girl. Meeting one or two people at a time she could handle. Meeting not only a group, but a whole guild full of people at once?

Oh boy. Just the thought made her feel anxious. Inna took a shaky breath and looked over Natsu and Happy, before remembering how they first appeared. "Um, p-pardon me? You were looking for someone called…?" She tried to remember the name. "Ig-Igneel?"

"Aye!" Happy spoke up. "We heard there was a Salamander in town, so we came to find him but he sure didn't look like a Salamander." Inna blinked. _Are they talking about an actual salamander? As in a fire lizard from myth?_

"Yeah, he was a total poser. He didn't look anything like a dragon, I doubt he can actually breathe fire at all." Natsu continued crossing his arms.

Lucy looked totally confused as Inna tilted her head. _D-Dragon? Wouldn't the news of a dragon be all over the country? Uncle said that if a dragon was to show, then God Serena would be the first person on the scene…_

"I don't get it, you say your friend Igneel looks like a dragon?" Lucy asked in an attempt to clarify. _Is he a lizardman with fire magic?_

"No no, you got it all wrong. Igneel isn't a person who looks like a dragon. He is a dragon." Natsu said very nonchalantly.

"Aye, Igneel is a real live dragon!"

The two girls froze, Lucy nearly jumping in her seat as Inna stared with wide eyes. _Dragons are considered to be myth with how rare they are! They can't seriously think a dragon would be in public like this!_ "Why would a fire dragon show up in the middle of town?!" Lucy demanded making the boys' jaws drop as they realized…that yeah, they didn't think that one through!

Lucy sighed and put her money on the table. "Well, I should be going, enjoy your food." She got up out of the seat and started to head towards the door. Inna wondered if she should follow for a moment, and was about to slid out of her seat to do so before squeaking seeing Natsu and Happy clamber out of their seats and bow their heads on the floor.

"Thank you for the food!" They chorused causing quite a scene in the café. Inna held back a laugh seeing Lucy become bewildered and waving them away, and then angrily rejecting the autograph from Salamander.

When Lucy did leave, Inna carefully moved around them to leave as well before a thought came to mind. She turned around and quickly took out the picture of her brother. "H-Hey, have you seen this man?" She asked. They both leaned in for a closer look, and shook their head.

Her shoulders slackened and she sighed. "Figures…"

* * *

Later, Inna had met back up with Lucy again. She wasn't sure exactly why, but Inna passed it off as she was a bit lonely and wanted to stick around with someone a little longer before continuing on her journey. However when she met back up with Lucy…well the young blonde had been found by Salamander apparently.

Inna didn't want to dress up for Salamander. Lucy was, her excuse saying it was a party after all and that she needed to play along with him until she got to Fairy Tail. The deep red dress with a plunging neckline and seductive slit up the side definitely would help her win points alright. She would have went on that boat in her usual attire but Lucy all but begged, saying she had never got the chance to dress up with another girl before.

And damn it, it worked.

She changed into a cream colored sweater dress. The skirt went to her knees and had that asymmetrical, fairy-like style to it while the neckline was a simple V that plunged only a little. She was wearing simple black boots that covered her knees with it, and she still wore her necklaces.

Upon boarding that ship however, she felt a sense of dread overwhelm her. She had to excuse herself a moment to stand by the railing of the ship, taking a deep breath as she paid attention to the gentle flowing of the ocean waves. _I'm sure it's nothing…but Dad always told me and Jack to listen to our gut instincts._

Shaking her head, she stood up straight and looked around for Lucy. She frowned before spotting a blonde head immediately be approached by Salamander. Not wanting her to be alone with that creep, she walked forward and slid by her side.

"Ah, I was wondering where your friend was! But if you don't mind-" His attention went to Inna. "Me and Lucy are going to talk about Fairy Tail. I understand you're not interested in that, so please, enjoy some of the drinks and I'll be sure to give you my attention." He winked causing Inna to make a face of disgust. She had no plans on leaving Lucy alone with him.

Lucy leaned in to whisper something to her. "I can handle him, don't worry."

She was hesitant, but eventually she consented and let Salamander lead Lucy away. She clenched her fists before heading back over to the railing. She made another face seeing all of the girls still gushing over Salamander. _He's not even that attractive in my opinion, I don't get it. Is fame really that appealing?_

She touched one of the necklaces around her neck, and felt a soft smile form on her face before carefully holding up her photo of Jack.

* * *

 **A year and a half ago…**

"Jack!" Inna ran down one of the many streets of Era. The second she spotted the white cloak, she all but smiled widely and raced towards him. Her brother, who had been walking with a few of his men, looked to the side. His eyes widened but a smile was quick to form on his face as he moved and open his arms up just in time for her to jump and hug him.

"Inna, hey! What's with this visit all of a sudden? I'm happy to see you, but usually you love it when I'm gone." He joked ruffling her hair with one hand as he set her down. It wasn't everyday he saw his sister, dressed in her favorite sweater dress, running through Era to find him.

She pouted at his response. "That's only when you start teasing me." He was about four years older than her, and he loved to remind her that he was the older brother. "I brought you something. Mom made it, she made this necklace for me," she pointed at the beaded necklace around her neck. "And she made you one too! Well, it's more like an amulet but still." As she fished around in her bag for it, she didn't hear Jack snapping at his men to _stop gawking at my sister, I'll make you run laps until you drop!_ She found the necklace and fished it out of her bag. She quickly slid it over his head before he had a chance to look at it.

He took it into his hand, and smiled seeing it. The iron charm looked like the head of a double sided battle axe, just like Inna's. Instead of purple beads, his had deep scarlet colored beards strung next to it. "Do you like it?" Inna asked before squeaking when he scooped her up and spun her around. "J-Jack!"

"I love it! Tell Mom I said it's amazing, and I'll be home to visit soon." He set her down and squeezed her in a hug. "And thanks for taking this to me, though I hope it's not an excuse to be seeing a boy…"

She groaned.

* * *

Eventually she pulled away from the railing, and sighed. She folded up her photo of Jack and frowned remembering the look she got from Salamander earlier. He _did_ know something, and she narrowed her eyes. "Why would he withhold that info then? Does he have some kind of animosity towards him? Why would a wizard not like a Rune Knight-"

Suddenly it clicked. Illegal magic. The blood drained from her face as she looked out and noticed just how far the boat was from shore. A little too far for just a party, especially with this many women on board…

She didn't hesitate to run towards the cabin where Salamander had taken Lucy. Just as she had thrown open the door, she saw Lucy stand up and slap what appeared to droplets of liquid from the air. "What are you playing at? I know what you're up to, you're using sleep magic." She glared at him. "Listen, I don't want to give you the wrong idea. I want to join Fairy Tail, but I won't date you to make that happen!"

Salamander, instead of being outraged, smirked and snapped his fingers. The curtains around the room went back and revealed several goons holding the women of the party. Inna's eyes widened as Salamander chuckled. "Welcome abroad my ship. I hope you behave yourself, because we're on our way to Bosco."

"Bosco! You said you were going to get me into Fairy Tail!" Lucy snapped as Inna turned and stepped back seeing a large man trying to grab her from behind. Quickly she found herself surrounded and her friend had noticed. "Hey, leave her alone!"

"Forget that, I only said I would help you to lure you here to become a slave. The same thing for your friend there." Salamander mocked. He glanced at Inna for a moment. "Oh, and by the way…I do recognize that man in the picture. Going by the resemblance, you must be his sister. Captain Jack Bunker of the Second Combat Unit…shame he went missing. I would have loved to have dealt with that punk myself."

 _Don't kid yourself. Jack would tear you apart._ Inna growled to herself, moving to step forward only for more men to close in on her. As Salamander spoke, she saw Lucy get out her keys. Unfortunately the soft _tink_ the keys gave off gave her away as he was quick to snap his fingers. A flame-like whip struck her hand making her keys go flying and he caught them. "Gate keys? So you're a celestial wizard…too bad that these can only be used by the wizard they're contracted to, so they're useless to me." He then threw them out the window.

Lucy's eyes watered as she trembled. "You use magic to trick people…you're the worst wizard alive!" Inna bit her lip as her hand started to lift upwards. _If I move fast enough, I shouldn't have to resort to…that._

Just as she was about to act and start fighting, something crashed through the roof catching everyone's attention. Lucy gasped and Inna was able to make out spiky pink hair. "Natsu." She breathed in relief thinking he had a plan of some kind while Lucy thought the same, grinning upon seeing him.

…that was all short lived when his face turned green and he shoved his fist over his mouth.

"You are so lame!" Lucy groaned. Inna resisted the urge to facepalm but looked over her shoulder feeling one of the men wrap his burly arms around her. Her eyes narrowed.

"Lucy, what are you doing here?" Happy called out, floating above them with wings. Wings. Those paying attention stared in pure disbelief as Lucy explained the situation only to be picked up by the cat.

The blonde squirmed. "Wait, what about Natsu and Inna?!"

"I can't carry two people, let alone three!"

Salamander looked at his men. "Stop them, we can't let them get away and report this to the Magic Council!" He looked through the opening and he headed outside. "Prominence Whip!"

Fire lashed out at the flying cat and girl, but he didn't hit them at all making him groan. "Cat's pretty quick-" He then heard a succession of rapid grunts of pain and thuds on the floor.

Salamander turned around only to see several of his men get taken down by rapid glowing white arrows. His eyes widened and he turned his head to see Inna standing in a side stance. One of her arms held a very elegant looking white and silver bow, with the other arm hovering as if she just fired off an arrow. Her eyes were narrowed in severe distaste.

"Where did she get that bow?"

"I don't see a quiver on her."

"Forget that, she fired off several arrows at once and didn't miss at all!" The men muttered watching her carefully, seeing that her eyes darted from each of their faces, as if memorizing each one.

"You have exactly one chance, and one chance only, to tell me what you know about my brother."

He stared nervously before a laugh escaped him. "Don't take me lightly!" He looked at her, and then the severely sick punk who had crashed onto his ship. One of his men went to stomp down on Natsu but the boy managed to catch his foot. He forced himself to stand.

"The Fairy Tail guild…you're a member?" He asked, a slight growl in his voice. Another of the men went to beat his fist down upon his head but a white glowing streak crashed into the man's chest. He was thrown back several feet. Natsu's gaze went to Inna, who had fired off yet another of her strange arrows. She glanced at him and gave a curt nod. It was strange to see how her shy persona immediately changed when in confrontation.

Suddenly everyone turned to see a large wave, water practically roaring from the sound, come at the boat fast. It slammed into it, hard, and everyone scrambled to try and keep their footing only to be thrown around when the boat was sent flying.

Inna herself quickly used Reequip to put her bow away as she attempted to grab something. Her fingers grazed a wooden beam and she latched on, eyes squeezed tight as she braced herself for impact.

Her eyes only opened after the boat crashed, and she looked to see she was hanging by her arms from a wooden beam in the air while the boat was on it's side in the sand, in one of Hargeon's ports. _Oh no, I hope the town's okay!_ She thought as she swung herself upwards. She turned to see Natsu standing from the side of the ship and there was a stormy expression on his face. She could have sworn she also heard Lucy and Happy somewhere else, but she didn't pay attention to that for now.

She looked down and much to her displeasure, saw Salamander and his little crew. "Natsu!" She called out and looked over to him but he didn't seem to hear her.

"So you claim to be a Fairy Tail Wizard? Let me get a good look at your face." He said in a low voice. He started to shrug off his jacket as he stared him down. Two goons started to go towards him, making the archer watching hold her hand out for her bow again only to see the men knocked back immediately as Natsu flung off his jacket, revealing the Fairy Tail emblem on his arm.

 _So Lucy had been socializing with a real Fairy Tail wizard the entire time? Wow…_

"My name is Natsu of Fairy Tail, and I've never seen you before in my life!" he yelled.

"That mark on his arm, this guy's the real deal Bora!" As the goon was immediately scolded Inna gasped. _Bora the Prominence, he was kicked out of the Titan Nose guild for bad behavior years ago! So this is what a washed up guild wizard looks like…_

"Listen here, I don't care if you're a good guy or bad guy, I won't let you dirty Fairy Tail's name!" Natsu declared as he started to move forward.

Bora sneered. "And what are you going to do about it?" He snapped his fingers and suddenly flames shot forward and consumed Natsu. Inna gasped in horror and went to step forward but then she realized…she didn't hear a sound of pain. She didn't hear or smell anything that indicated he was burned. What the…

"Are you sure you're a fire wizard? Because this is the worst flames I've ever tasted!"

Color drained out of everyone seeing Natsu literally eat the flames, sucking them in like they were noodles. Inna felt dizzy with shock, stumbling back a little. _He's eating the fire! What in the- wait a minute, does this mean he's a-_

"Thanks for the grub, poser." Natsu grinned. She was relieved he wasn't hurt, and decided to not stand by watching anymore. Her eyes went downwards.

She spotted one of the men and jumped onto him, not caring that she caused him to fall flat on his face when she landed on his shoulders. Before he could move, she stomped on his wrist and equipped her bow. He panicked seeing an arrow made of magic energy form and be aimed right at his throat.

"Bora the Prominence, huh? Since he's occupied, I have some questions for you. What do you know about Jack Bunker? I would answer fast if I were you, my fingers have a nasty habit of giving out and releasing the arrow too soon." A total bluff, but it served its purpose.

The lackey gulped and started to sweat bullets. "N-Nothing! I just know he caused Boss to get kicked out of his guild years ago, that's all I know! He didn't have nothing to do with your brother's disappearance, I swear!" Seeing the look in her eye, he added "A-And neither d-did I!"

Her eyes narrowed and the arrow disappeared, her foot leaving his wrist. He sighed in relief but that was short lived. Her foot slammed into his face, promptly knocking him out. Inna clenched her fists, not sure if she should be relieved Jack wasn't harmed by these goons, or frustrated that she came upon an empty lead. Again.

A crash sounded and Inna quickly moved away from the destruction taking place as Natsu fought Bora. She spotted Lucy and Happy and hurried over to them. "Inna, you're okay!" The blonde sighed in relief but jumped when another loud crash sounded.

"He's a dragon-slayer, isn't he?" Inna asked Happy.

"Aye, Igneel taught it to him!" Right, the dragon they were talking about earlier. Inna shielded her face as another crash of fire erupted and she sucked in a deep breath seeing destruction erupt throughout the town.

 _They're overdoing it!_

Eventually Bora was sent flying across town as Happy mused something about fish and smoke, Inna really hadn't been paying attention as she started to heavy rapid heavy footsteps. She gulped recognizing the Fiore Royal Army. "The army?" Lucy asked, though it really wasn't a question. She didn't get an answer because Natsu suddenly snagged her wrist, and then Inna's making the girl flush pink, and took off running.

"Oh crap we gotta get out of here!"

"Where are you taking us?!"

"Come on, you said you wanted to join the Fairy Tail guild right?" Natsu asked, making Lucy stunned while Inna tried to say she wasn't looking to join Fairy Tail. "So let's go!"

He let go of Lucy when she grinned and race with him. He looked at Inna unexpectedly and her face went red again. _Why do I have to be so awkward…?_ "…alright." He grinned and let her wrist go as she ran with them.

 _I might not be joining, but maybe I can find some help in finding Jack!_

* * *

 **A/N: I didn't like the direction The Star and the Sword was going, so I'm redoing everything. Please review your thoughts and thanks for reading!**


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